Serb diaspora

The Serb diaspora () consists of ethnic Serbs and their descendants living outside Serbia and its neighboring countries. Recent estimates indicate that about 1.6 million ethnic Serbs and their descendants live abroad, predominantly in Europe and, to a much lesser extent, overseas (primarily in North America and Oceania).

Serbs in the countries bordering Serbia, commonly termed "Serbs in the Region" (), are not regarded as part of the Serb diaspora, since they constitute autochthonous communities that have the legal status of recognized ethnic minorities or, in case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of the constituent peoples.

History

The emigration of ethnic Serbs in the modern age could be categorized into several waves. The first wave included emigrants from regions towards the Adriatic Sea and the Habsburg monarchy, in the 19th century, and notable individuals were Nikola Tesla, Mihajlo Pupin and Milutin Milanković. The second wave came in the aftermath of World War II in Yugoslavia, when tens of thousands prisoners-of-war did not return to Socialist Yugoslavia; liberalisation efforts of the Communist regime in the 1950s allowed for children of war emigrants to leave the country, with examples such as Charles Simic and Steve Tesich.

In the 1960s came the third, larger wave, of "Gastarbeiters" (guest-workers). The Yugoslav state encouraged its citizens of rural and city peripheries to work abroad temporarily, in order to earn money for a better life back home. By the early 1970s, more than a million Yugoslavs lived abroad, the majority in Germany. In the 1980s, youngsters of the middle- and high class emigrated.

The Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s saw emigration of recruit-aged, and the expulsion of ethnic Serb communities in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Serbia and Montenegro suffered hyperinflation, international sanctions, economic collapse, and finally the NATO bombing of 1999. During that single decade an estimated 300,000 people, disproportionately young and educated, left Serbia. This period saw the first massive "brain drain" - doctors, engineers, and university professors who have never returned.

The descendants of the early economic migrants, the post-World War II war political exiles, the gastarbeiters, the 1990s war refugees, and the 21st-century brain-drain generation now form communities across every continent.

Demographics

Country Population Note 387,000 (2023 est.) See also Serbs in Germany. 300,000 (2025 est.) See also Serbs in Austria. 176,643 (2024) See also Serbian Americans. 120,000 (2008 est.) See also Serbs in France. 120,000 (2008 est.) See also Serbs in Switzerland. 94,997 (2021) See also Serbian Australians. 93,360 (2021) See also Serbian Canadians. 80,000 (2008 est.) See also Serbs in Sweden. 70,000 (2001 est.) See also Serbs in the United Kingdom. 38,964 (2002) See also Serbs in Slovenia. 29,679 (2024) See also Serbs in Italy. 20,297 (2024) See also Serbs in the Netherlands. 20,000 (2014 est.) See also Serbs in South Africa. 8,964 (2025) See also Serbs in Norway. 5,935 (2021) See also Serbs in Malta. 5,000 (2008 est.) See also Serbian Argentines. 4,151 (2021) 4,101 (2021) See also Serbs in the Czech Republic. 3,949 (2024) See also Serbs in Denmark. 3,943 (2022) See also Serbs in Spain. 2,456 (2021) See also Serbs in Greece. 2,151 (2020) See also Serbs in Russia. 1,876 (2021) See also Serbs in Slovakia. 1,347 (2023) See also Serbian New Zealanders. 1,218 (2021) See also Serbs in Luxembourg. 1,149 (2021) See also Serbs in Poland. 1,009 (2011) 702 (2023) 623 (2001) See also Serbs in Ukraine. 606 (2024) 569 (2011) See also Serbs in Bulgaria. 500 (2008 est.) See also Serbs in Belarus. 425 (2024)See also Serbs in Portugal. 343 (2016)

Notable people

Serb diaspora

Bron en licentie